Balow, who calls himself the "ninth trustee," has attended every board meeting for the past four years, he said. He’s had private conversations with university leaders and community members. He’s led a multi-million dollar effort to reinstate MSU’s dissolved swim and dive team. 

The effects of his outsized presence are tangible: Despite being the only major candidate without a strong background in politics, Balow received a coveted endorsement from a Nassar survivor support group and a shoutout from the Black Students’ Alliance. MSU’s new president has also been receptive to bringing back the swim and dive team, Balow said, despite the university’s earlier messaging.

"Some of my friends are like, 'Mike, you’re crazy for doing this,'" Balow said. "I said, 'Yeah, maybe. Maybe I’m half-crazy.' But I’m kind of wired different."

Balow has considered himself a "super volunteer" ever since his time in the Marines, where he was a surface warfare officer and learned that "if you serve, it’s with honor."

Since then, he’s held countless positions outside his day job in real estate. He’s had leadership roles in youth sports programs, a church and his neighborhood association. 

"If I'm not doing something outside of work, I feel like I'm not paying it forward," Balow said. "This is my calling."

Balow is one of two Republicans on the ballot this November. He hopes to "restore trust" in university leadership by promoting transparency and making a concerted effort to engage community members.

The green wall

Much of the distrust in MSU’s leadership lies in its tendency toward secrecy, Balow argues.  

He calls it the "green wall of silence" — the idea that "everything should be decided behind closed doors" and university leaders shouldn’t acknowledge their mistakes or disagreements.

The university’s policy mandating neutrality on unionization is a good example, he said. MSU employees trying to unionize claim the university is blocking their efforts. Balow says it could help if administrators were allowed to engage in open discourse on the subject, which the current policy prohibits.

If elected trustee, Balow says he’ll also ask MSU staff to reach out to everyone who signs up to speak at board meetings to try to personally resolve their concerns before the meeting starts.

A frequent public commenter himself, Balow says he would have felt assured that his concerns were being taken seriously if he had "gotten the respect of a phone call" from an MSU administrator.

He’d also advocate for holding board meetings more frequently, he said. 

Whitmer shouldn’t remove trustees

In March, the board voted to ask the governor to consider removing two of its own members for violating university policies. 

The decision came after an outside investigation found that Trustees Rema Vassar and Dennis Denno interfered in university investigations and lawsuits, accepted gifts from donors, and encouraged students to embarrass and attack their colleagues, among other things.

Balow believes Gov. Gretchen Whitmer shouldn’t remove Vassar and Denno, because the two officials didn’t engage in criminal activity.

"Certainly it’s not right" that the trustees manipulated students, Balow said. 

But he sees many of the firm’s other findings — that trustees took gifts from donors, tried to visit victims of a campus mass shooting being held in family-only areas of a local hospital, and unsuccessfully tried to coordinate the release of thousands of documents detailing MSU’s handling of Larry Nassar — as justifiable.

"I can't fault someone for doing something that they think is right," Balow said. "Even if it doesn't turn out exactly like they planned."

Balow takes issue with the investigation altogether. 

The outside firm was hired to investigate the board after another trustee, Brianna Scott, publicly accused Vassar of overstepping her then-role as board chair.

After Scott’s allegations, people "piled on" Vassar before a proper investigation could take place, Balow said. Many state political leaders called on Vassar to resign.

"It was almost like someone organized that," Balow said. 

Balow said he believes Vassar and Denno were being penalized for supporting the release of the Nassar documents, though he admits he can’t prove it.

Divestment

Balow says he empathizes with those affected by Israel’s war on Gaza, but isn’t sure whether MSU divesting from Israel will help "move the needle."

"​​I'm skeptical as to whether that would achieve really anything on campus," Balow said. 

The university’s efforts would be more effective if they brought groups together to "find out how we could make a difference," he said. Petitioning legislators could be one option, he said.

Swim and dive

Balow has been the face of the push to reinstate MSU’s swim and dive team. His daughter, Sophia, was one of several female members of the team who sued the university for dissolving the team in 2020.

They settled their lawsuit in January 2023, agreeing to end the case in exchange for further review and revision of Title IX policies by the university's athletic department. The case almost made it to the supreme court.

That review, which was completed in October 2023, found that female athletes did not receive as much financial assistance and had less access to sports-related resources in proportion to their male counterparts.

Balow helped raise millions toward the reinstatement of the team, but fell short of the $26.5 million goal set by then-Interim President Teresa Woodruff to fund the program. But he says the new president, Kevin Guskiewicz, has been receptive to bringing back the team.

After a board meeting in April, Guskiewicz told reporters he would "love to try to find a way (for swim and dive alumni) to help us build a facility."

Balow’s history of "standing up for women on campus" helped him secure an endorsement from the Parents of Sister Survivors Engage, said Mary Schultz, a board member for the group.

Balow has met with POSSE before, so the group "felt like they could trust Mike," Schultz said.